Congratulations to Pablo Capo for winning our drawing!
I want to thank all of you who participated. We received some really great predictions and some other very interesting thoughts. People submitted their predictions by commenting on our blog post as well as submitting emails. We got over 50 entries, but I've consolidated the entries into 25 predictions. Again, thank you! I hope you had fun. I know I did.
1. Sustainable
A few people said that more organic, bio-dynamic wines will become available: The big trend in the next ten years is going to be one word, "sustainable"! This word has huge buzz in the wine world and wineries which embrace this trend will see freer PR via the wine magazines and independent wine blogs. Also there will be more eco-friendly packaging (i.e. using less glass, lighter weight bottles)
2. Boxed wines
Several people mentioned that boxed wines will become more popular: They will lose their stigma of being cheap wine because better labels will start packaging their wine this way. Boxed wines will become acceptable – much like screw caps did. Like screw caps, box packaging keeps wine fresher. This is because of the vacuum seal bladder inside the box.
3. Wine glut continues
People will keep finding great wines under $15 and they will come to expect great values. Increased competition will improve the quality price ratio of many regions' wines.
4. Finer wines
A couple of people mentioned that finer wines will see a surge in sales especially South American and dessert wines as the economy recovers.
5. Unfamiliar varietals
Long overlooked varietals will become more popular: Petite Syrah, Petit Verdot, Viognier, Carmenere, Barbera, Carignan, Grenache, Malbec, Mourvèdre, Nebbiolo and most notably Tempranillo to a point that we began to see more vineyards around the world planting these grapes. Then, by the end of the decade, more vineyards will be producing these as 100% wines instead of as they are commonly used today, in blends.
6. Health
Continued focus on wines as a health benefit as the population continues to age.I swear I've had less colds this year because of my glass of wine with dinner! Or it could just be luck.
7. Younger generations
Focus on capturing the younger generations and convince them that wine is better than beer/alcohol.
8. Classic Varietals
A return to the classic varietals (like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay) but maybe made or blended in less traditional ways. We have been thinking the same thing and this is why we have introduced our Meritage blends which combine Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec grapes.
9. Familiar Countries, but unfamiliar regions
Eastern Australia, New Zealand's non-Marlborough areas-- the north island, the lesser-known areas of Spain, New York State wines, especially Finger lakes Rieslings and Hudson Valley and Long Island reds.
10. White Wine
White wine will make a comeback, especially less oaky white wines… cleaner Chardonnays.
11. Sparkling Wines
Sparkling wine will increase in popularity and in their percentage of overall sales.
12. Wine from other Fruits/Less alcohol
Wine made from other fruits will become more popular. Or less alcohol will be added, focusing more on the other ingredients to increase taste.
13. Chilean wines
Chilean wines which gained prominence this past decade will continue to surge in popularity
14. Increase in Wine Consumption & Sales
Several people mentioned that wine consumption and wine sales will grow. With the economy down, more people are staying at home and cooking and enjoying a nice bottle of wine. Wine consumption will continue to grow relative to other spirits and the overall quality level of every day wine will continue to improve.
15. Famous or Special Labels
We will start to see 'celebrity' endorsed wines. "Pink", Jessica Simpson's rose blush or "L" a spicy Shiraz by Lindsey Lohan. Or, better yet, “Celebrate”, a Lance Armstrong bold cab that promises to remind us of the good times in life. Or winemakers will create specially made labels and will donate a portion of proceeds for different charitable causes or disaster relief. Well, maybe this is happening already. Check out our Rachel Ray Wine Picks and our Surfrider Red where $1.00 from each purchase goes to the Surfrider Organization!
16. New wine boutiques
With the increase in wine-drinkers, especially those in their 20's, we'll see a rise of new wine “boutiques”. We don't consider ourselves a "boutique" necessarily because we think it implies expensive, but we are sort of like that in the fact that we don't sell every wine available. We only sell the best wine that we find in that price range. We focus on the smaller and off-the-beaten path vineyards where we can find exclusive wines to share with our customers. Wines they may not be able to find anywhere else.
17. Home wine making will grow popular
One person felt strongly that wine making would be a popular trend. This sounds scary to me... but it might be fun!
18. Kosher wines will gain popularity
One person voted for Kosher wines. I've never tasted a Kosher wine before but I'm interested to know how many of our customers are interested in Kosher wines? Drop me a line if you are interested.
19. Screw tops will gain in popularity
Although one person mentions that winemakers will move away from screw caps and go back to corks, using synthetic corks instead of traditional ones... some of you think screw caps are here to stay! Screw caps still get a bad rap even though they keep a wine fresher than a cork! I dare you to try one - a French one no less - the Bouchard Pinot Noir.
20. Trends of buying wine online will grow
A couple people predicted that online wine sales will continue to grow. We hope so!
21. End of South African Reds
One person hopes!!
22. Single portion wines will grow in popularity
A vote for mini bottles of wine... I can't remember the last time I've had a single portion wine.
23. Portuguese wines will grow in popularity
Someone votes for Portuguese. Hmmmm... I've never even seen one for sale.
24. Australian wines will continue to grow in popularity
The Australians have certainly made a name for themselves and one predicts they will continue to grow in popularity. We think so too. There are a lot of great Australian wine finds!
25. Red wines will continue to be popular
One person said our “Poetess” wine will be among them. It is a great wine!
#23 - you've never seen wine from portugal?? now, i normally like to keep a good secret (is portugal really secret?), but i'm afraid the world will lose some good vines if people don't start buying their still wines - blended from touriga & tinto roriz et al. and of course, once we finally rediscover the wonderful world of port, there will be plenty of fruit! google "douro"...
Posted by: phil | Saturday, February 06, 2010 at 01:04 PM
1. Sustainable. This is a necessity in the EU, will be more common in US. Local is particularly strong due to recession now. The 2010 Wine Market Council and Nielsen report shows downturn in organic/biodynamic; though prices are usually the same, general consumer feel is that O/B costs more. Plus wineries haven't figured out how to make a big deal out of fact they are using biomass, gray water etc... or doing biodynamic vineyards without signing up with Demeter (they trademarked "biodynamic").
2. Boxed wines. The Wine Group is the big winner here, huge increase over past few years and will continue.
3. Wine glut. Well, this depends on whether all the wine-related marketing gets more people to drink wine! And the WMC report says marginals are bailing during the recession. Actually, it depends a lot on currencies. If Argentina decides to devalue the peso (as is predicted) then those wines will get even cheaper. Same with EU if euro continues to fall apart (could be a good year to buy those 2009 en primeurs??).
4. Finer wines. Likely to be on increase as many have fallen in price. And not all wine drinkers are on unemployment.
5. "New" varietals market is already surging. After all, who knew what Torrentes was three years ago? Want to know how many varietals are permitted by TTB? 327. http://www.ttb.gov/wine/wine-faq.shtml#w9
6. Health. This is sticky for wineries but not for those who write about it.
7. Millennials are already soaring in wine categories. With improved APS and mobile marketing, don't see any way but up – at all price points.
8. Classic varietals. Didn't know we'd left them.
9. Familiar countries, unfamiliar regions as a sales point?– I don't think so. Most people don't know the regions anyway except for Bordeaux (actually the wine equivalent of California – not the 57 appellations) and Napa Valley.
10. White wine. As you say, it never left our glasses even during the oak era (which is fading, too bad more people didn't just buy Chablis...from France).
11.Sparkling wines. Love 'em. There is a difference between Champagne and sparkling but as long as it costs more than Cold Duck, pour on.
12. Other fruits, less alcohol. Two very different concepts. Look at the wines from the middle of America for fruit wines. Alcohol is a big deal and even in Napa, winemakers say they are trying to bring it down. Meanwhile, see Portugal and buy Vinho Verde (9-11%) or Germany or Loire, France.
13. Chilean. Good wines. Could get killed if Argentine peso devalues.
14. Consumption and sales. Yes, will grow as long as millions of Millennials turn 21. Which I assume will happen.
And 20. Online wine buying will grow. As soon as it can be ordered easily on my mobile and more states opt for direct shipping and monopolies go in this direction - it will grow significantly.
That's my take. Thanks for making the list.
Posted by: Kathy | Sunday, February 07, 2010 at 11:52 AM
Great List and some interesting reading! you have definitely followed the golden rule of making a great list "put in a couple of contraversial points".
So While i agree with much of the list i cannot help but scream in frustration at the hopeless ignorance of no 21. End of South African Reds? What on earth Have you Been drinking?????
In the interest of full disclosure i am South African and Work in the Industry as a Viticulturist.
There are many, many world class Reds produced in South Africa and I cannot help but think that such a comment can only be delivered by someone who's exposure to the Country and it's wines has been very very limited indeed.
So I Challenge the author to boldly go where he has not gone before and seriously endevour to taste some of the serious Red Wines. The List would be too long so here are some Producer names to get him started:
Villafonte
Graham Beck Wines
Ernie Els
Rust en Vrede
Tokara
Jordan Wines
Kanonkop
Le Riche
Hartenberg
Saronsberg
Posted by: Marco Ventrella | Monday, February 08, 2010 at 02:25 AM